Emily in Paris

Emily in Paris is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for Netflix. The series stars Lily Collins as aspiring marketing executive Emily Cooper, an American who moves to Paris to provide an American point of view to a French marketing firm. In Paris, she tries to overcome challenges in her work, love life, and friendships. The series also stars Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Ashley Park, Lucas Bravo, Samuel Arnold, Bruno Gouery, Camille Razat, William Abadie, and Lucien Laviscount.
Produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and developed initially for Paramount Network, where it was given a straight-to-series order in September 2018, the series moved to Netflix in July 2020. Filming takes place in Île-de-France, mainly in Paris and its suburbs, and began in August 2019.
Emily in Paris premiered on October 2, 2020, to positive reviews in the United States but criticism in France for negatively stereotyping Parisians and the French. In November 2020, the series was renewed for a second season by Netflix, which premiered on December 22, 2021. In January 2022, the series was renewed for a third and fourth season by Netflix. The third season premiered on December 21, 2022.
Premise
Emily in Paris follows Emily Cooper, an American from Chicago with a Master's degree in communications, who moves to Paris for a new job opportunity. She is tasked with bringing an American point of view and social media presence to a venerable French marketing firm. Cultures clash as she adjusts to the challenges of life in Paris while juggling her career, new friendships, and active love life.
Cast and characters
Main
Lily Collins as Emily Cooper, a 29-year-old who moves from Chicago to Paris for a temporary social media strategy job at Savoir
Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu as Sylvie, Emily's tough and bitter boss at Savoir in Paris
Ashley Park as Mindy Chen, Emily's first friend in Paris, a Chinese-Korean nanny and aspiring singer, and the heiress to a Shanghai business magnate from whom she is estranged
Lucas Bravo as Gabriel, Emily's attractive downstairs neighbor, the head chef at Chez Lavaux, Camille's former boyfriend and Emily's lover
Samuel Arnold as Julien, Emily's trendy and theatrical co-worker who forms a comic duo with Luc
Bruno Gouery as Luc, Emily's quirky co-worker, who forms a comic duo with Julien
Camille Razat as Camille, Emily's former friend, and Gabriel's former girlfriend who works at an art gallery and is a champagne heiress. Her family, part of the French nobility, owns a château and vineyard.
William Abadie as Antoine Lambert (season 2–present; recurring season 1), Emily's client who owns the perfume company Maison Lavaux and is having a long-standing affair with Sylvie
Lucien Laviscount as Alfie (season 3; recurring season 2), an English banker in Emily's French class and Emily's love interest
Recurring
Kate Walsh as Madeline, Emily's boss in Chicago who cannot take the job in Paris after learning that she is pregnant
Jean-Christophe Bouvet as Pierre Cadault, a famous flamboyant French designer and uncle of Mathieu
Charles Martins as Mathieu Cadault (seasons 1–2), a businessman who becomes Emily's love interest
Jeremy O. Harris as Grégory Elliot Duprée (season 2–present), Pierre Cadault's rival
Céline Menville as Jacqueline (season 2–present; guest season 1), Emily's French teacher
Kevin Dias as Benoît (season 2–present), a member of Mindy's band and her love interest
Jin Xuan Mao as Étienne (season 2–present), a member of Mindy's band
as Erik de Groot (season 2–present), a photographer and Sylvie's love interest
Melia Kreiling as Sofia Sideris (season 3), a Greek artist who works with Camille and with whom she is having an affair
Paul Forman as Nicolas de Léon (season 3), a businessman and Mindy's love interest, with whom she attended a boarding school in Switzerland
Guest
as Catherine Lambert, Antoine's wife
Camille Japy as Louise, Camille's aristocratic mother
Christophe Guybet as Gerard, Camille's father
Victor Meutelet as Timothée, Camille's younger brother with whom Emily has a one-night stand
Hanaé Cloarec-Bailly and Tytouan Cloarec-Bailly as Sybil and Laurent Dupont (season 1), the two children that Mindy nannies
Arnaud Viard as Paul Brossard (season 1), the owner of Savoir
Roe Hartrampf as Doug (seasons 1 and 3), Emily's ex-boyfriend in Chicago
Claude Perron as Patricia (season 1), an employee at Savoir
Eion Bailey as Randy Zimmer (season 1), a well-known hotel owner
Aleksandra Yermak as Klara (season 1), the representative of Hästens, a Swedish luxury bedmaker
Julien Floreancig as Thomas (season 1), a snobbish French professor of semiotics
Carlson Young as Brooklyn Clark (season 1), a famous young American actress
Elizabeth Tan as Li (season 1), Mindy's best friend who brings her bridesmaids to Paris to shop for bridesmaids' dresses
David Prat as Théo (season 1), the elder of Camille's two brothers
Faith Prince as Judith Robertson (season 1), the head of the American Friends of the Louvre
Isaiah Hodges and Christophe Tek as Grey Space (season 1), a duo of avant-garde designers
Arnaud Binard as Laurent G. (season 2–present), Sylvie's husband
Daria Panchenko as Petra (season 2), a woman in Emily's French class
Ellen Von Unwerth as herself (season 2), a photographer hired for Pierre Cadault's photoshoot
Julien Looman as Gerhard (season 2), Ellen Von Unwerth's agent and Julien's potential love interest
Alice Révérend as Natalie (season 2), a bartender at Chez Lavaux
Luca Ivoula as Raphael (season 2), a sous-chef at Gabriel's restaurant
Episodes
Series overview
Season 1 (2020)
Season 2 (2021)
Season 3 (2022)
Production
Development
The series was created by Darren Star, who has a multi-year overall deal with ViacomCBS and develops for ViacomCBS and for outsider buyers via MTV Entertainment Studios. Star was also expected to serve as an executive producer alongside Tony Hernandez. Jax Media was reported to be involved in a producing role. On September 5, 2018, it was announced that Paramount Network had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of 10 episodes. On July 13, 2020, it was reported that the series would move from Paramount Network to Netflix. On November 11, 2020, Netflix renewed the series for a second season. On January 10, 2022, Netflix renewed the series for a third and fourth season.
Casting
On April 3, 2019, Lily Collins was cast in the eponymous role. On August 13, 2019, Ashley Park had joined the main cast. On September 19, 2019, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Lucas Bravo, Samuel Arnold, Camille Razat, and Bruno Gouery joined cast in starring roles, while Kate Walsh, William Abadie, and Arnaud Viard were cast in recurring roles. On May 24, 2021, Lucien Laviscount was cast in a recurring role, while Abadie was promoted to series regular for the second season. On April 10, 2022, Laviscount was promoted to series regular for the third season.
Filming
Principal photography for the first season, in Paris and its suburbs, began in August 2019. Additional photography took place in Chicago in November 2019.
Many scenes are filmed at Place de l'Estrapade in the 5th Arrondissement, including the site of Emily's apartment, the restaurant ("Les Deux Compères"), and the bakery ("La Boulangerie Moderne"). Some scenes are also filmed at Cité du Cinéma, a film studio complex in Saint-Denis. Famous Parisian sites to feature in the series include Le Grand Véfour, the Pont Alexandre III, Palais Garnier , Jardin du Luxembourg, Jardin Du Palais Royale, Café de Flore and the Panthéon. An episode was also filmed at the Château de Sonnay in the department of Indre-et-Loire.
Filming for the second season began on May 3, 2021 and concludes on July 19, 2021. New filming locations for the second season include Monnaie de Paris, Musée des Arts Forains, Huatian Chinagora, Saint-Tropez, Palace of Versailles, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, and other locations in France. Filming of the second season in Paris caused problems within the 5th Arrondissement, with the residents deeming the crew as brutal, threatening and too intrusive. Lily Collins stated that the second season was set in a COVID-19-free world, as the decision was made by the producers to ensure escapism through joy and laughter. In scenes that involved crowds, masks were off when they were on-camera and back on once completed, which Collins stated was difficult to pull off. Filming for the third season began in June 2022. On June 6, 2023, it was reported that filming for the fourth season has been delayed due to the writers strike.
Soundtrack
In October 2020, Ashley Park's "La Vie en rose", sung as a cappella by Mindy Chen in episode six, debuted at number one on Billboard's Top TV Songs chart. 's "Moon", sung in episode four, debuted at number four, and Cavale's "Burst Into Flames" from episode ten debuted at number seven. Alter K, a French music publisher and distributor, made significant contributions to the soundtrack, with half of the songs in the series being from its catalog. James Newton Howard composed the series' theme music and score.
Release
The series' first season was released by Netflix on October 2, 2020, followed by a DVD release on November 9, 2021. The second season was released on December 22, 2021. The third season had its premiere at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris on December 6, 2022, and was released on December 21.
Reception
Audience viewership
For the week of October 5, 2020, Emily in Paris reached the top ten list of most watched streaming shows per Nielsen. On May 3, 2021, Netflix revealed that the series had been watched by 58 million households in the month after its debut. The series remained in UK top 10 list for 40 consecutive days after its release.
Critical response
For the first season, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 61% based on 57 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The website's critics' consensus reads, "Though its depiction of France is très cliché, Emily in Paris is rom-com fantasy at its finest, spectacularly dressed and filled with charming performances." Metacritic gave the first season a weighted average score of 58 out of 100 based on 18 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
The second season has a 61% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 23 reviews, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The website's critics' consensus states, "Emily in Paris remains a sugary soufflé, but it's liable to give a toothache to viewers seeking anything more profound than a frivolous romp." On Metacritic, the second season received a score of 64 based on reviews from 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
For the third season, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 65% based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The website's critics' consensus reads, "Emily in Paris' bubbly watch ability keeps threatening to go flat in a third season that seems content to spin its wheels, but this gallic travelogue will still be a pleasant enough journey for fans." Metacritic gave the season a weighted average score of 54 out of 100 based on ten reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Daniel D'Addario of Variety described the series as "a delight that poses the question of what it really means to grow up, against a truly inviting backdrop", and that Collins is "an inherently winsome performer who has never been quite as well used as she is here". Kristen Baldwin of Entertainment Weekly gave the series a "B" and wrote, "If you need a five-hour brain vacation, Paris is a worthwhile destination." The New Zealand Herald considered the show "visually delectable" and that "Collins has a pixie-ish charm which makes her endearing", but also that the show is "as ephemeral as fairy floss". Kristen Lopez of IndieWire praised Collins for being a "jewel, make no mistake" and that "Emily in Paris is only as watchable and frivolous as its leading lady," but criticized the series as a whole, writing: "Emily in Paris is like scrolling through Instagram. It's a great way to waste time looking at pretty pictures with no depth."
Some people criticized Emily's character. Emma Gray from HuffPost called Emily a bland character, stating, "The show doesn't even make an effort to quirk her up or give her a more relatable, girl-next-door roughness: she's always immaculately coiffed and made-up and garbed in effortfully eye-catching outfits. But there's not much to the character except for enormous self-confidence and the inexplicable ability to attract new friends and love interests on every street corner." Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian gave the series one out of five stars: "[...] if it is an attempt to fluff up the rom-com for the streaming age, then it falls over on its six-inch heels." Rachel Handler opined "Darren Star has done it yet again: centered an entire show on a thin, gently delusional white woman whimsically exploring a major metropolitan area in wildly expensive couture purchased on a mid-level salary."
Sarah Moroz of Vulture.com opined, "The most egregious oversight [...] is Emily herself, who shows zero personal growth over a ten-episode arc. [...] Emily's vapidity baffles anyone who has moved from their native country." Sonia Rao of The Washington Post compared Emily to the heroines of the Amy Sherman-Palladino universe: "Like the Gilmore girls, Emily is strong-willed and refuses to let anything get in the way of her schemes. Like Midge Maisel, her actions can be quite rash, but she still wins over her fictional acquaintances while utterly baffling viewers." Megan Garber of The Atlantic was critical of Emily, writing, "An expat who acts like a tourist, she judges everything against the backdrop of her own rigid Americanness. You might figure that those moments are evidence of a show poking fun at its protagonist's arrogance or setting the stage for her to grow beyond her initial provincialism. But: You would be, as I was, mostly incorrect. Instead, other people change around her. They grudgingly concede that her way (strident, striving, teeming with insistent individualism) is right. The latest show from Sex and the City creator Darren Star—sells several fantasies. Primary among them is the notion that Emily can bulldoze her way through France and be celebrated for it."
Some critics, such as Jo Ellison, writing for the Financial Times, appeared ambivalent. On the one hand, she expressed admiration for the way Darren Star manages to depict "a version of womanhood in which promiscuity, bossiness, and shopaholics are depicted as qualities to be celebrated"; on the other, "the major plot lines might have been written in the 1940s and the Frenchies are routinely cast as vain, preening and parochial." She concludes, "Cliché-ridden and completely outdated: Darren Star's 'Sex and the Cité' will no doubt be monstrously successful."
Many French critics condemned the show for negatively stereotyping Parisians and the French. Charles Martin wrote in Première that the show unfairly stereotyped and depicted the French as "lazy [individuals who] never arrive at the office before the end of the morning [...] are flirtatious and not really attached to the concept of loyalty [...] are sexist and backward, and [...] have a questionable relationship with showering". A reviewer at Sens Critique wrote: "Emily in Paris projects the same twee, unrealistic image of Paris that the film Amélie does". RTL.fr wrote: "Rarely had we seen so many clichés on the French capital since the Parisian episodes of Gossip Girl or the end of The Devil Wears Prada."
Cultural influence
The show's popularity has reportedly increased tourism in Paris, with hotels and restaurants benefiting from "the Emily effect". Tours of locations that appear on the show are available. An American living in Paris complained of "dozens of raucous 'Emily in Paris' pilgrims who now swarmed [Café de Flore], taking Instagram-ready selfies".
Controversies
Depiction of Ukrainian character
The second season was met with controversy in Ukraine over the depiction of a Ukrainian character named Petra (a name not used in Ukraine), who was depicted as a petty thief and shoplifter, with the hashtag "Ми не Петри" (We are not Petras) trending for a few hours. The Ukrainian Minister of Culture, Oleksandr Tkachenko, wrote on the social media platform Telegram, "In Emily in Paris, we have a caricature image of a Ukrainian woman that is unacceptable. It is also insulting." He also wrote a letter to Netflix complaining about the depiction of Petra. According to Tkachenko, Netflix sent a response saying that they had heard the dissatisfaction of Ukrainian viewers, and that Petra would be shown in a different context for the third season.
Bribery allegations at the Golden Globe Awards
The show received two nominations at the Golden Globe Awards, but prior to the ceremony, it was reported that 30 members of the voting body had been flown to Paris, where they spent two nights at The Peninsula Paris and were treated to a private lunch at the Musée des Arts Forains, with the bill reportedly paid by the show's developer, Paramount Network. This led some critics to question the impartiality of the voting body, as Emily in Paris was considered to be a critical failure, and its nomination was a surprise. In contrast, critically acclaimed shows, notably I May Destroy You, were not nominated.
Accolades
See also
French television
Notes
References
External links
2020 American television series debuts
2020s American comedy-drama television series
2020s American romantic comedy television series
2020s American workplace comedy television series
2020s American workplace drama television series
English-language Netflix original programming
French-language Netflix original programming
Television series created by Darren Star
Television series about social media
Television shows affected by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike
Television shows filmed in France
Television shows filmed in Illinois
Television shows set in Paris